Re-Electing Obama, Moving Forward

Obama supporters in Chicago on Election Day (Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images)

Writing at the Huffington Post, the Rev. Al Sharpton says that when we re-elected an African-American president, we chose to move forward.

There's no question that the 2012 election was a monumental victory for this president and for all those that fought tirelessly on the side of progress. But we must take this victory and make certain that it is not an election night victory, but a victory instead for the American people to continue moving forward. The president must deal with the deficit without adding burden on the backs of the middle-class and seniors, and without giving immunity to the wealthy. The rich must pay their part, and programs created to benefit the middle-class and underprivileged must be maintained; we must move ahead responsibly and without undue pressure on those that can handle the least.

Many forecasted complacency for the presidential election, but we all observed the tremendous turnout -- in some places more than in 2008. Areas like Wisconsin ran out of ballots, and people remained in line for hours even as the race was being called for the president. A record number of Latinos and Asian-Americans voted for President Obama, and African-Americans, young people and seniors pushed back against disenfranchisement and proved the doubters wrong. As a beacon of democracy in the world, the United States conducted another historic election where the support for equality and justice was evident yesterday as it ever was before.

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